Gujarat Govt succumbs, withdraws RSS circular

Earlier, BJP president Kushabhau Thakre too urged Patel to withdraw the circular to save the Centre of ignominy of facing a censure motion on an issue on which BJP’s allies were not fully behind it.

BJP leaders thus managed to persuade a stubborn Gujarat Government which had stoutly rejected their demand for withdrawing the order for the past two days.

Patel’s decision has rendered the censure motion in Lok Sabha infructuous. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had earlier in the day, conceded a debate under rule 184 that entailed voting on the Gujarat issue.

The Prime Minister’s decision came in wake of overwhelming demand from BJP MPs at their Parliamentary Party meeting, to face censure motion than pressurise the Gujarat Government to withdraw its circular. Vajpayee called a meeting of National Democratic Alliance leaders to announce his decision, before going to the Parliament.

Though some of the BJP’s allies including National Conference and Trinamool Congress had announced their support to the Government against censure motion, others like Telugu Desam Party and DMK had kept their cards close to their chest.

Not willing to take any chances the BJP dispatched its two general secretaries to ensure withdrawal of the controversial order. Thakre too spoke to Vajpayee to find out a way out of the political deadlock continuing for the past two weeks.

The Government might have succeeded in ending the impasse on Gujarat issue, but both Houses of the Parliament were unlikely to function for rest of this week as well for the Opposition was bent on stalling the proceedings demanding dismissal of Bihar Governor Vinod Chandra Pandey for inviting NDA to form Government instead of Rashtriya Janata Dal, the single largest party.

Vajpayee’s announcement that the Government was ready for having a discussion under rule 184 of Rules of Business, restored order in Lok Sabha but only temporarily. The House after having a brief discussion on International Women’s Day, had to be adjourned as RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh accompanied by a host of his partymen and Congress MPs stalled proceedings demanding Pandey’s dismissal.

The Rajya Sabha too was adjourned on Wednesday for the third consecutive day without transacting any legislative business as a determined Opposition created an uproar demanding immediate discussion on the Bihar issue.

The Opposition members led by the Congress reiterated their demand for a discussion on the conduct of the Bihar Governor and wanted to know from the Government the schedule for the motion for discussion under rule 170 which was admitted by chairman Krishna Kant on Tuesday. The motion allows for voting at the end and given the Government’s minority in the Upper House, the motion if carried, could have caused it enough embarrassment, apart from putting it under pressure to recall the Governor.

As Opposition members rushed to the front benches voicing their demand, Krishan Kant asked them to go back and in the same breath adjourned the House for the day.

In Gandhinagar, less than 24 hours before the withdrawal, Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya had sought to harden their stance on the issue and asserted that even the Union Government or the party central leadership cannot ask them to reconsider the circular.

“It is a state subject. It is our decision. Nobody can tell us to reconsider it. There is no question of withdrawing the circular,” said the Minister of State for Home repeatedly.

The State Government remained adamant even after the RSS chief Rajendra Singh issued a statement that the Sangh had no role in the Government’s decision and that the RSS was not dependent on who rules. To wriggle out of the crisis the party leadership had indirectly dealt with the State leaders through Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari.

Earlier in the day, Opposition Congress members created an ruckus in the State Assembly and walked out demanding that the circular be withdrawn. Outside, Leader of Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary, after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, had announced that the party would intensify the agitation against the government circular and disrupt the Assembly proceedings every day till it was revoked.